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How to get out of a writing rut: Editor's Notes #270 September 19, 2018 |
| Hello, learn to write beautifully, but don't stay locked in your room to do it: go out and try new things, meet new people, have a wonderful, rich, compelling, and interesting life -- and then tell me about it in the most beautiful prose imaginable. —Jeff Kleinman In this issue: 1. How to get out of a writing rut 2. Tickled my funny bone 3. Interesting Web site 4. Writing prompt 5. A special offer 1. How to get out of a writing rut All writers face the possibility of getting into a writing rut. You know you are in a rut when you keep doing the same thing but don’t seem to be making headway. You could also be in a rut if you are just completely stuck. Sometimes you can muscle your way through. But if you can’t, or if muscling your way is not your thing, consider trying something new. Here are a few ways to get out of a writing rut by switching things up. Write something completely different. If you normally write prose, write poetry. If you normally write sci-fi, write a western. If you normally write for kids, write for adults. If you always write humour, write something serious. Switch from fiction to nonfiction or vis versa. Some of the above may sound daunting, so, give yourself permission to write in your new way without expectations. Just play with the new toy and see what happens. Your writing rut may not be the actual writing. Maybe you are in a rut about research, about submissions, about revisions, about choosing an agent or publisher. The principle is the same. If you are in a rut, doing the same thing as you have been doing is not going to get you out. You have stop what you are doing and try something else, even something you are sure won’t work. Just try it. What do you have to lose? What if you can’t imagine what to do? Ask someone else, and then, no matter how nuts the advice sounds, just try it. Again, what do you have to lose? Don’t have anyone to ask? Send me an email. Tell me about your rut. I’ll put on my best thinking cap and give you my best advice. Then — you guessed it — just do it. What do you have to lose? The sooner you take steps to get out of your rut, the sooner you will be on a smoother path to your goal. And if your attempts to get out of your rut put you on a different road altogether, who knows where you will end up? The main thing is to keep on writing. =========== 2.Tickled my funny bone They begin the evening news with "Good Evening," then proceed to tell you why it isn't. =========== 3. Interesting Web site Not all ruts are about writing. Here are some general tips for getting out of life ruts. https://www.wikihow.com/Get- out-of-a-Rut =========== 4. Writing prompt Saying we are in a rut is a cliché that probably started one day as a fresh metaphor. Write a short piece that shows what being in a rut means. You can make this a word illustration, or a fable, a bit of journaling, anything that makes you unpack the metaphor. I’d love to see what you discover as you write on this topic, so take the challenge, and send me the result. =========== 5. A special offer Free bookmark template based on your book cover when you order a full paperback deal (includes book cover and interior typesetting). Email sjbarnesdesign@gmail.com for more details. SJBarnes Design offers Cover Design, Typesetting, eBook Design, author website, social media set-up and more. sjbarnes.com =========== Join Writer's Helper Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/WritersHelperEditor Follow me on Twitter @AudreytheEditor Link on LinkedIn https://ca.linkedin.com/in/audreyowen (Email me first so I know how you know me.) =========== If you know a writer who would appreciate receiving Editor's Notes, forward this issue. If someone has passed this on to you, you can get your own free subscription by signing up at https://www.writershelper.com/newsletter.html |
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